Honor and Esteem

Isaiah 43: 4

You are honored and I love you.

This quote is part of verse four. I left out the word “since” because it is italicized which means the translators added it. There is another part I left out which I really do wish to share with you. It reads that you are precious in God’s sight. So, let’s see if we can really take this in. God is saying to each one of us that we are precious, honored and He loves us.

At some point you have to wonder why the ruler of the universe would even stoop to say such crazy stuff to us. Why does He really care? I mean, look around. Are we really such a great prize? You would think that the guy who made everything we can see, the one for whom miracles are common place could do much better than us.

At one level, He loves us because in the beginning He chose to. He made a decision and He hasn’t backed off of it. Are we worthy? No way! But God knew what He was doing. He knows, even now, who we will become. When we finally see His face, we will be transformed and we will become the family He has long desired. He sees who we are on the inside and He knows the journey we are on. There is no mystery to Him. We may be stumbling around now but He will lead us in the way and we will finally see in ourselves what He has seen all along.

There is something about you that made you worth sending Jesus into the earth as a ransom. God loves us. It sounds silly when you really think about it but the sooner we can accept it, the better for us all. If we are honored and precious, it is because of whose children we are and in the end, our love for Him will shine like the sun, perhaps even like the “son.”

God knows you and even so, still loves you. He sees how precious you are. He sees in your heart and you are a delight to Him. Okay, we mess up routinely but He knows we are growing and we will outgrow all of this foolishness. We have been made completely worthy, even as we are now, in Jesus. There is nothing more precious than the blood which has redeemed us.

Today, start this week as the honored, precious and highly esteemed child of the Lord. Let Him raise you up in your own eyes, not because of anything you have done but because of who you are – His child. Be humble, but be accepting. Let God love on you. I tell you the truth, if you will let His love permeate your being, you will grow and you will find His manifested presence with you constantly. If you have been looking for the secret, this is it. Let God love you. Accept His love. Believe in His lovingkindness towards you. There is no greater power in the universe than His love and nothing better you can do to live in power than to surrender to His uncompromising love. Go, highly honored, precious child of the King, and have a great life.

So Precious

Psalm 36: 5 – 12                God’s Word

O Lord, your mercy reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God,
your judgments like the deep ocean.
You save people and animals, O Lord.
Your mercy is so precious, O God,
that Adam’s descendants take refuge
in the shadow of your wings.
They are refreshed with the rich foods in your house,
and you make them drink from the river of your pleasure.
Indeed, the fountain of life is with you.
In your light we see light.
Continue to show your mercy to those who know you
and your righteousness to those whose motives are decent.
Do not let the feet of arrogant people step on me
or the hands of wicked people push me away.
Look at the troublemakers who have fallen.
They have been pushed down and are unable to stand up again.

I would rather you read this psalm again rather than words from me today. It is so beautiful. Which statement is your favorite? It is very hard to say, isn’t it? What about “Your mercy is so precious, O God” or “you make them drink from the river of your pleasure?” In these verses we see God’s heart towards us. He wants to bring us under his wings to protect and provide for us. He wants us to soak up His goodness and light. If you pause and quiet yourself down for a moment, can you feel His abundant love and compassion for you? Let Him whisper in your ear today.